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Is China a bully? If you stopped the average person in the street
and asked this question, the answer would probably be a resounding
‘YES’. Why? A bully is defined as: Someone who habitually seeks to
harm or intimidate those whom they perceive as vulnerable.
So how could China be a bully?

A week or so ago, we discussed the union bashing disguised
as concern for ‘essential workers’ from LNP MPs Andrew Laming
and Peter Dutton. Unfortunately, the pitiful behaviours exhibited by
these two LNP politicians is not reserved to the outer suburbs of Brisbane.

You may have seen Federal MP Andrew Laming’s comment in the
media recently suggesting that parents send their children back to
school, regardless of the recommendations of the various Education
Departments around Australia. The ABC’s version of the story is here.

How many times have we questioned the mental status of POTUS Trump?
It was as far back as November 2016 that we began to do so with
Let’s welcome President Trump. Even then, Michael Moore expressed
his doubts about Trump’s surprise election and predicted, albeit incorrectly

It seems Australia’s success so far in reducing the impacts of COVID 19 has
a lot to do with the co-ordinated efforts of the various state governments and
the federal government. Comparisons to other countries with similar qualities of
life demonstrate Australians are experiencing less Coronavirus related illness and death.

Have you ever noticed there are some ‘special people’ in our society
that are always hustling to gain a sniff of an advantage? With the current
restrictions on life as we (used to) know it accepted by the majority of
Australians in an effort to prevent a far worse tragedy, our hustlers seem
to be lining up to demonstrate their complete lack of regard for the rest of us.

The Political Sword

Prime Minister Morrison seems to be certain that the next federal election will be in May. Cynics would suggest as Parliament is only sitting for two weeks in April, the plan is to hone their political sales pitch, pork barrel marginal electorates and parachute past or failed LNP politicians and the...

This was written in the immediate aftermath of the Christchurch terror attack where 50 innocent people (at the time of writing) were gunned down by a lone gunman. It was going to be a rant against a number of Australian politicians who use racism and terrorism to further their own objectives. Howeve...

Do you become as infuriated as I do at the sheer insolence of PM Morrison and his spokespersons when they feed us arrant nonsense about their policies, when they serve us up implausible readings of political events and the economy, when they treat us like mugs who will swallow anything they feed us?...

In the past week or so, it was announced that last December a jury of his peers had found George Pell guilty of a number of heinous crimes against children. While Pell is (at the time of writing) planning to appeal the conviction, at this stage the facts are that after a trial where the jury could n...

The title for this piece came from an enlightening interview in the ABC’s One Plus One series. David Marr was the subject and Julia Baird the interviewer. She cleverly yet tactfully explored the inner workings of Marr’s mind and his struggle as a gay man in a society that looked askance at gays.
...

Scott tells us he is rather important and considering he is Prime Minister of Australia, he is probably correct to a large extent. Scott wants everyone to like him and when the election happens sometime in the next few months, Scott wants us all to dutifully go to the Polling Place and support the l...

Although he’s been PM only since August of last year, it feels as if he’s been in the top job for much longer. His accidental election in the wake of the ill-planned Dutton grab for prime ministership has not inhibited him one jot. He’s been out there in press conference after press conference, in m...

The long running TV series Seinfeld was supposed to be the show about nothing. Was it the inspiration for the ATM (that’s Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison) Coalition governments? To demonstrate the point, when you have a spare 6 minutes have a look at this TedX talk, you won’t be wasting your time.
...

The human mind is a wonderful thing. We all have different interests, ideas and methods of doing what is needed to stay alive. We also have different beliefs. Some will tell you that the contrails left in the sky following the passage of aircraft are
a 24/7/365-day aerosol assault over our heads...

There is a social media meme at the moment where two photos are posted side by side, one from 2009 the other from 2019. ‘Bonus points’ are apparently gained by ‘featuring’ a similar pose in both photos. As everything is apparently better with a hashtag, this latest fad is tagged as the #10yearchalle...

What better time to take a look at our world, our planet, than at the beginning of another year? Long past are the days when we could retreat into a comfortable cocoon with no windows to the wider world. Unless we turn off our radios, television, our computers and the Internet, and never look at pri...

They say it’s nice to start with a win. So as we get down to business for another year let’s celebrate a small win (‘I told you so’ is so 2018!).
In May 2015, The Political Sword discussed the release of Anglicare’s annual rental affordability snapshot, which highlighted that 8 of the 65,614 prope...

As we enter the Festive Season, we reflect on the year past and the one ahead. It’s a time when Christians celebrate Christmas and other special days, Jewish folk enjoy Hanukkah, Mexicans celebrate the Fiesta of our Lady of Guadalupe, and Swedes celebrate St Lucia Day. The New Year is ushered in as ...

Rather than joining those who examine the entrails of what happened in the past 12 months and makes a narrative around the good, the bad and the ugly, how about we raise the tone a tad and look at attitudes and consensus.
Wasn’t the last week of Parliament fun? Effectively the coalition government ...

One of the production team behind The Political Sword regularly attends a trivia night at a local pub. Recently the host (who runs a company that hosts multiple trivia nights every night of the week — so he’s pretty good at finding obscure facts) made the claim that 49 percent of Australians are eit...

How well the ancient Biblical words apply to the Coalition: ”How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle...thou wast slain in thine high places, and the weapons of war perished!”
The true-blue Liberal flag, once graced with rich shades of competence, efficiency, endeavour, diligence and ...

The Liberal Party cultural wars are having a detrimental effect on the rest of us. Here are two examples.
Without rehashing old news, Australia had a functioning carbon pricing and emissions trading scheme around 5 years ago. It was canned by the Abbott government after mounting the mother of all s...

Are you as exasperated and disgusted as I am with the political antics exposed during the renewed debate about energy policy? Are you appalled by our parliamentarians' persistent inability to collaborate in making decisions about how to tackle climate change? These are rhetorical questions. I know t...

It’s heading into summer, so thoughts turn to Christmas shopping, whose place we’re all going to this Christmas and the sounds of balls being hit by racquets and bats. Yes, it’s tennis and cricket season again.
It’s a pretty good bet that the Liberal Party grassroots member surrounded by family an...

We ought not to be surprised at the multiplicity of Scott Morrison’s mistakes, given the lack of preparation he has had for the role of prime minister. Prior to Malcolm Turnbull’s ouster, Morrison was Treasurer and before that, Minister for Immigration. He had never had responsibility for making the...

Newsletter

Is China a bully?Is China a bully? If you stopped the average person in the street and asked this question, the answer would probably be a resounding ‘YES’. Why? A bully is defined as: Someone who habitually seeks to harm or intimidate those whom they perceive as vulnerable. So how could China be a bully? ‘China’ ... 1/06/2020

Give us a breakA week or so ago, we discussed the union bashing disguised as concern for ‘essential workers’ from LNP MPs Andrew Laming and Peter Dutton. Unfortunately, the pitiful behaviours exhibited by these two LNP politicians is not reserved to the outer suburbs of Brisbane.... 25/05/2020

People that live in glass housesYou may have seen Federal MP Andrew Laming’s comment in the media recently suggesting that parents send their children back to school, regardless of the recommendations of the various Education Departments around Australia. The ABC’s version of the story is here.... 18/05/2020

Solar panels: ASD If you are looking for solar panels for your property buy it with ASD. We will guide you in a proper way with ur all question. Also, enjoy the government subsidy on solar panels. Solar panels are the future of a nation. Make Australia as a solar country.. Buy now for your...